In this real game of chess between Presidents Biden and Putin, the Russian president always seems to hold the advantage.
A clever strategist, he can blow hot and cold in the same week, suggesting that he could reduce the number of soldiers on the Ukrainian border while evoking nuclear tests in the coming days. Supported by China, Vladimir Putin maintains the mystery and exploits what Western media generally attribute to his unpredictability.
As I continued to read major American newspapers this week, I noticed growing impatience. Commentators or experts were tired of the attitude of the Biden administration which constantly gives the impression of being in tow of Russian strategy.
It is in this context that I became interested in a text written by a former American diplomat who also served in the Obama administration. Brett Bruen believes that the time has come to reverse the roles and impose demands and deadlines that will be those of NATO and the United States.
More than considering new sanctions, an exercise currently being undertaken in Congress, Bruen proposes to demand a withdrawal of Russian troops by early March. At the same time, the Russians are invited to return to the negotiating table to complete the Minks II agreement, work on which began in 2015.
Of course, many things remained unclear after the 2015 agreement and nothing says that we can easily reach compromises on the main pitfalls. Despite the hardships to overcome, Minks II is the solution envisaged by leaders like Emmanuel Macron.
I may have the opportunity to come back to the possibility of resolving the conflict by resuming discussions on the agreement. I mainly wanted to let you know of other other options considered by Bruen. The one that would contribute to undermining the authority of Vladimir Putin in his country.
Among the tools available to President Biden are the intelligence services. For a very long time, these services have accumulated a considerable amount of information related to the corruption and mismanagement of Russian leaders.
What Bruen proposes is an invasion of information. Nothing less than a return to the old practices of the Cold War, when the two blocs competed on the field of propaganda. The idea is to undermine the regime’s total control over information.
If this approach is known, Bruen also suggests emulating the International Olympic Committee. How? ‘Or’ What? You remember that Russian athletes can compete, but not Russia as a country. The idea is to force Russia to respect the rules of the game in order to benefit from the privileges of other countries which respect them.
Like other rogue states, including North Korea or Iran, if Russia wants to be invited to summits, to speak without limits at the UN or to be welcomed into the American capital, it will have to act ” on a regular basis”.
I don’t know if you believe that the options mentioned by the former ambassador are realistic or if the chances of success are real, but for me they reflect very well the impatience of many Americans, but also of observers of the international scene. The time has come to be proactive and not let the Russian president dictate the course of operations.